The present invention is directed to a semi-submersible trailer for carrying and transporting boats from and to a lake, or the like. Existing prior art, semi-submersible trailers generally comprise a main frame upon which the boat is supported, which main frame is provided with a forward, upwardly-extending, V-shaped section upon which the forward portion of the hull is supported. This forward, V-shaped, upwardly-sloping section of the frame is provided with an upstanding, padded V-shaped support for the forward vertical edge of the bow of the hull, which is commonly termed a "bow-stop." In operation, the boat is driven onto the semi-submersible trailer until the boat makes physical contact with the padded bow stop, at which point the boat is stopped. The power for causing the abutment of the bow against the bow-stop is provided by the engine of the boat itself, and entails considerable skill on the part of the driver of the boat. First, the boat must be driven onto the trailer proper, with continuous powering thereafter in order to cause the abutment of the bow against the bow-stop. Continual powering of the boat is required thereafter in order to finally align the bow against the bow-stop, so that a loop, or what is commonly termed a "bow-eye," is correctly positioned so as to receive a pivotal locking lever arm, commonly termed a "security bar," which secures the boat to the frame, which security bar is provided as part of the bow-stop unit itself, with the bottom of the security bar being pivotal below the padded bow-stop. This prior-art trailer and method of use suffers from considerable drawbacks. Hull damage is common, owing to the contact between the bow area of the hull and the bow-stop itself during positioning and centering. In the worst-case scenario, the padded bow-stop board may split open upon firm contact by the boat's hull, exposing the bolt heads which gouge the boat's hull. Normal wear and tear owing to abrasive contact is also inevitable, causing cosmetic damage to the bow of the hull. An additional drawback to the prior-art method and frame is the requirement of positioning the security bar's slot over the boat's bow-eye, which more often than not causes fingers to be pinched during such positioning, owing to the tight fit therebetween. The security bar has a 3-inch long slot on the upper portion thereof, in which the boat's bow-eye is received, which is an extremely tight fit and often leads to the catching of fingers during such procedure. A more considerable problem associated with this prior-art frame and method is the common occurrence of overdriving the boat while positioning it on the trailer. This occurs because of variable loading situations, in which very different amounts of load are positioned on the boat. Specifically, during the final stages of driving the boat onto the frame, when it is necessary to position the hull such that the bow-eye is in substantial alignment with the security bar, the boat may often move forward 2 or 3 feet during such maneuvering, which has, in the past, caused the rear propeller of the boat to strike against the rearmost cross member of the trailer frame, causing considerable damage to the propeller, sometimes the propeller shaft, and the cross member, all of which is costly. In the prior-art trailer frame, the security bar has substantially no lateral movement, only vertical pivotal movement, with the centering of the hull on the bow-stop being a tedious task, often leading to any of the problems mentioned above, all of which occurs because of the need to properly center the hull of the boat on the trailer frame.
The present invention is directed to an improved type of trailer frame and method of use, by which positioning of the boat on the trailer frame is considerably made easier and more facile, and which also overcomes all of the above-mentioned drawbacks.